Adjustable air outlet



March 14, 1961 E. c. ZIMMERMAN ETAL 2,974,580

ADJUSTABLE AIR OUTLET Filed March 17. 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I'll March 14, 1961 E. c. ZIMMERMAN EFAL 2,974,580

' ADJUSTABLE AIR OUTLET 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17, 1958 INVENTORS, Mzmm Weia March 1961 E. CZIMMERMAN ETAL 2,974,580

ADJUSTABLE AIR OUTLET 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 17, 1958 INVENTORS a; f afia/ 072% ADJUSTABLE AIR OUTLET Filed Mar. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 721,807 12 Claims. 01. 98-40) The present invention is directed to a new and improved passenger adjustable air outlet for diffuser for operational use in vehicles such as aircraft, railroad cars, busses, etc. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an air outlet incorporating features of an improved nature dealing with the operational assembly and mounting of the outlet-in a passenger conveyance with the outlet being preferably formed from readily moldable plastic material providing for lightweight, low cost manufacture and long life and eflicient operational use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved passenger adjustable air outlet for individual passenger use, the outlet being formed from lightweight, low cost materials of a type which readily adapts the outlet for eflicient assembly and mounting for operational use, the several elements constituting the outlet being of a nature readily adapting fabrication thereof from molded plastic material of variable flexibility func tioning to provide an improved. assembly.

Still a further object is to provide a new and improved adjustable air outlet of the air diffuser type wherein a structurally uncomplicated air flow control valve arrangement is provided with the separate elements thereof being readily assembled and disassembled, and in their assembled relation being capable of eflicient operation in connection with low sound development and substantially non-turbulent air flow, the number of structural elements constituting the assembled outlet being minimized by the improved cooperative functioning and interconnection therebetween.

Other objects not specifically set forth will become apparent from the following detailed description made in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

7 Fig.1 is a fragmentary perspective of the improved air outlet of the present invention illustrating the same in its mounted operative position and having a portion thereof broken away to better illustrate certain structural features thereof; v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the outlet of Fig. 1 illustrating a different mounting arrangement thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the outlet;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section of the outlet illustrating in detail certain operative aspects thereof and the form of mounting the outlet shown generally in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view on .a reduced scale of the outlet; V

Fig. '6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with a portion of the outlet removed to better illustrate certain structural features thereof;

the mounting ring member of the outlet;

ited States Patent 2,974,580 Patented Mar. 14, 1961 Fig. 10 is a partly sectioned elevation of the valve member of the outlet;

Fig. 11 is a partly sectioned elevation of the nozzle member of the outlet;

Fig. 12 is a partly sectioned elevation of an adaptor ring for use in mounting the outlet of the present invention; and

Fig. 13 is a partly sectioned elevation of a decorative cover member for use with the adaptor ring of Fig. 12.

Fig. 1 illustrates installation of an adjustable air outlet 15 incorporating the improvedstructural and opera tional features of the present invention, the outlet 15 being mounted in a suitable panel portion 16 which may constitute an interior wall portion of a vehicle. Generally, the outlet 15 will be mounted in association with a passenger adjustable reading light, the paired units being designed for single passenger use and being mounted in a single mounting plate which is suitably attached to surrounding interior finishing material often constituting the underside covering of a typical luggage rack. In the latter instance, the surrounding panel portion 16 would constitute the mounting plate suitably held in covering relation to an opening provided in the interior finish paneling with suitable means being provided for delivering air to the inner portion of an outlet 15 for distribution thereby.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2-4, the outlet 15 includes a spheroidal, ball-like housing 17 mounted in a ring member 18 which, in turn, is suitably supported by one of two different forms of mounting arrangements as will be described. The housing 17 is open at the top and bottom with the intermediate side wall portion being spheroidal in shape to conform to the inner spheroidal surface of the ring member 18. This general configuration is conventional in known types of adjustable reading light and ventilator structures to provide for universal movement of the housing member 17 relative to the ring member 18 for passenger adjustment of the same. For ease of mounting and universal adjustment of the housing 17 relative to the ring member 18, the housing 17 is preferably formed from a relatively rigid and extremely smooth material, such as rigid nylon, and the ring member 18 is preferably formed from relatively resiliently flexible material, such as flexible polyethylene which is highly compatible with the nylon, to provide for ready relative movement between the housing 17 and the ring member 18.

The plastic materials specified are commonly referred to as self lubricating and in this respect are capable of establishing and maintaining therebetween a smooth uniform sliding action. Furthermore, the preferred materials of rigid nylon and flexible polyethylene provide parts capable of long life operation by exhibiting unlimited wearing qualities. With rigid nylon there is no problem raised in connection with cold flow and the structural features of the ring member 18, including the manner of mounting the ring member and housing 17 relative to one another, eliminates tension on the polyethylene and overcomes any tendency of cold flow thereof.

As particularly shown in Figs. 2-4 and 9, the ring mem ber 18 includes a continuous ring portion 19 provided with an inner concave surface. A mounting groove 20 extends continuously about the lower outer surface of the ring member 18 and readily receives therein the edge of a mounting surface 16 illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 2

or the edge of an adaptor ring 22 particularly illustrated in Fig. 4. The inherent flexibilityof the material of the ring member 18 readily permits insertion of the ring member 18 within a mounting'opening for receiving of the mounting edge within the groove 20 followed by insertion of the housing 17 within the ring member 18 to expand the same sufliciently to prevent displacement of the mounting edge from the groove 20.

With this improved type of mounting arrangement, the outlet may be mounted directly in a suitable opening in a panel 16 as shownin Fig. 2 without the use of separate mounting elements such as the adaptor ring 22. The panel 16 may either be an apertured plate of the type previously described which supports a combined reading light unit and air outlet 15, or it may actually be the interior finish of a vehicle with suitable openings being provided for receiving the outlet 15. The adaptor ring 22, as particularly shown in Fig. 12, is provided with a continuous inner peripheral mounting rib 23 which is readily received within the mounting groove of the ring member 18 as shown in Fig. 4. A series of circumferentially spaced fastener openings 24 are provided in the ring 22 to receive fasteners 25 therethrough for attaching the ring 22 to the interior finish 26 of the vehicle in which the outlet 15 is mounted. It will be appreciated that the numeral 26 could also designate a mounting plate of the type previously described which also supports a reading light. For purposes of outward appearance, the adaptor ring 22 is preferably provided with an inclined outer periphery 27 which serves as a retaining surface for a snap-on cover element 28 illustrated in detail in Fig. 13. This element is provided with an outer inturned flange portion 29 which is resiliently received about the outer peripheral surface 27 of the adaptor ring 22 to hold the cover element 28 in covering relation with the under surface of the adaptor ring 22 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. In this manner the heads of the fasteners 25 are covered not only for the purpose of preventing unauthorized removal of the same, but further to provide the assembled outlet 15 with a decorative effect in the respect that the cover element 28 may be of any desired color. The cover element 28 may be suitably formed from plastic or rubber material.

The groove 20 of the ring member 18 is provided with panel gripping edges including an upper tapered lip 13' which is formed integral with the outer surface of the body portion 19 and which is compressively flexed into tight sealing engagement with the inner surface of the panel or adaptor ring. The bottom surface of the groove 20 is defined by an upwardly inclined rib-like lip 21 which is flexibly compressed into sealing engagement with the outer or under surface of a panel or adaptor ring. The lips function to tightly grip the supporting edge and completely seal the assembly thereto. In order to prevent rotational movement of the ring member relative to the mounting edge of the panel or adaptor ring, the groove 20 may be provided with an integrally formed key-like projection 36 which is received in a suitable recess formed in the mounting edge. This rotational locking arrangement is shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The retaining of the housing 17 within the ring member 18 is accomplished by the provision of a plurality of separated, resilient fingers 31 which are provided at the base thereof with openings 32 which serve to weaken the fingers and impart adequate flexibility thereto. Each of the fingers 31 is provided with a finger locking means retaining groove 33 with all of the grooves being circumferentially aligned. Each groove 33 is defined by rib-like projections 34 and 34' formed integral with the outer surface of each finger 31. The aligned grooves 33 seat therein an interrupted annular spring member 35.

The spring member 35, as particularly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 7, is formed from pre-tensioned wire which is interrupted at one point to define revcrsely bent hook-like ends 36 and 37. In order to avoid cold flow in the polyethylene material of the ring member 18 while retaining eflicient contact between the ring member 18 and the outer surface of the housing 17, the spring member 35 is pre-tensioned to provide for substantial overlapping of the hooked end portions 36 and 37 thereof in its operative position as shown in Figs. 3 and 7. in this respect, the

spring member 35 in its mounted condition within the retaining groove 33 of each of the fingers 31 is not under normal circumstances placing the material of the fingers 31 under tension to an extent that cold flow of the polyethylene results. The inherent resiliency and shape of the fingers 31 results in the inner surfaces thereof engaging the outer surface of the housing 17 for proper supporting contact therebetween. However, inadvertent or unauthorized upward displacement of the housing 17 from the ring member 18 is prevented by the limiting effect of the hooked ends 36 and 37 of the spring member 35 upon expansion of the spring member 35.

Consequently, upward pushing of the housing 17 which normally results in outward flexing of the fingers 31 is limited by expansion of the spring member 35 to an extent that the hooked ends 36 and 37 engage one another as illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 7 and thereby lock the spring 35 against further expansion and limit the outward flexing of the fingers 31 to an extent that further upward movement of the housing 17 is prevented. This arrangement eliminates the possibility of complete upward displacement of the housing 17 from the ring member 18 while eliminating undue tension on the material of the fingers 31 of a nature that would result in cold flow of the polyethylene material thereof. The hookcd ends of the spring member 35 may be readily disengaged by displacement relative to one another to allow mounting or dismounting of the spring member relative to the retaining grooves 33 of the ring member 18. In this manner the housing 17 may be introduced downwardly into operative position within the ring member 18 or may be removed upwardly therefrom for disassembly by complete removal of the spring member from the grooves 33.

As illustrated in Figs. 2, 4-6 and 9, the ring member 18 may be provided with an expanded edge portion 38 formed integral with the body portion 19 to limit the degree of tilting of the housing 17 in a given direction. This prevents movement of the housing 17 to an extent that the flow of air therefrom interferes with a passenger other than the one occupying the seat with which the outlet 15 is mounted for operative use.

In the structural arrangement described, the outer effective diameter of the housing 17 is slightly greater than the inner diameter of the ring member 18 to result in a slight spreading or expanding of the ring member 13 to secure the same in proper engagement with the mounting edge whether the latter is provided by the panel 16 in Fig. 2 or the adaptor ring 22 previously described. The resilient nature of the material of the ring member 18 makes this arrangement possible to assure fixed mounting of the outlet 15 in operative position. The difference in diameters should be slight so as to preclude the placing of the material of the ring member 13 under adequate tension to cause cold flow. It will be appreciated that slight expansion of the mounting ring 18 is possible without any real problem in connection with cold ilow of the material thereof. The parts described are molded to proper size and the universal movement limiting projection 38 may be readily molded integral with the mounting ring 18 or can be completely eliminated from this element if desired.

The relatively slight tensioning of the resilient fingers 31 of the ring member 18 by action of the spring 35 is adequate to hold the housing 17 in proper operative relation to the ring member 18. In other words, the slight clamping action of the spring 35 urges the housing 17 downwardly into proper seating engagement with the inner surface of the ring member 18 and holds the same in this position during use of the outlet. The spring 35 affords constant tension for proper universal movement of the housing 17 relative to the ring member 18. The adaptor ring 22 will preferably be used solely where there is no ready access to the rear of or above the mounting panel 16. Elimination of use of the adaptor ring as illustrated in Fig. 2 is an important feature from a cost standpoint of the outlet 15. Where access can be gained above or to the rear of the mounting panel for purposes to be described, the outlet 15 may be directly mounted in the panel without the need of additional elements such as the adaptor ring 22.

Figs. 2-4 and 8 illustrate the structural details of the housing 17. The inner surface of the housing is provided with a'plurality of axially directed and circumferentially spaced ribs 39 which project inwardly to define therebetween a plurality of axial slots 40. The ribs 39 extend upwardly from the top of the housing 17 with the outer surfaces thereof being curved to conform with the outerspheroidal surface of the housing 17 and constitute an upper continuation thereof. The bottom opening of the housing 17 is defined by a recessed shoulder portion 41 having an integrally formed block-like projection 42 in the form of a stop means for a purpose to be described. This particular structural feature is clearly shown in Fig. 6 and it will be seen that the stop means 42 projects into the shoulder area 41.

The housing 17 removably carries therein a valve member 43 and a nozzle member 44. The valve member 43 is particularly shown in Fig. as including a stem portion 45 carrying at the upper end thereof a threaded stud 45' to which is threadedly engaged a one-piece spider member having a plurality of radially directed rigid fingers 46 which are of less width than the slots 40 of the housing 17, and which extend outwardly sufficiently to be received in certain of said slots. Fig. 3 illustrates the provision of three fingers 46 on the valve member 43 with each of these fingers being received in a slot 40 of the housing 17 to prevent rotation of the valve member 43 relative to the housing 17 while allowing axial relative movement therebetween. Consequently, the valve member 43 is mounted for reciprocal, non-rotative movement within thehousing 17 with the fingers 46 thereof sliding between the ribs 39 of the housing.

'Each of the fingers 46 depend downwardly from threaded attachment with the.stem 45 in radially spaced relation to the stem 45. The inner surface portions of the depending fingers 46 have integrally formed there with a ring portion 47 which is provided with a continuous thread 48 along the inner surface thereof. The ring portion 47 includes a radiallydirected annular rib 49 on the outer surface thereof for a purpose to be described. The lowermost end of the stem 45 of the valve member 43 has integrally formed therewith a paraboloidal valve element 50 which at the base thereof is enlarged relative to the diameter of the stem 45 and which tapers to a blunted end outwardly of the base. The nozzle member 44, as particularly shown in Fig. 11, is in the general form of a collar having an upper tubular portion 51 externally carrying a continuous thread 52 for mating with the thread 48 of the inner surface of the ring portion 47 of the valve member 43. The bottom portion of the nozzle member 44 includes an enlarged shoulder 53 which, is interrupted by a block-like protuberance 54. Below the shoulder 53 is a further annular enlargement defining the shoulder 55 with the lowermost end of the nozzle member being provided with an inwardly tapered outer surface 56 and an outwardly tapering inner surface 57. The outer tapered surface 56 is interrupted by a plurality of ribs 58 to allow adequate grasping of the lowermost end of the nozzle member 44 torotate the same relative to the housing 17. Intermediate the inner surface of the tubular portion 51 and the tapered inner surface 57 is formed a radially inwardly extending annular valve seat 59 for engagement with the outer surface of the valve element 50 of the valve member 43.

-In operatively mounting the valve member 43 and nozzle member 44 within the housing 17, the valve member 43 is received within the housing as shown in Fig. 4 with the fingers 46 thereof slidably received between certain of the ribs 39. One finger is provided with an enspect to relative operational travel therebetween. A coil spring 60 is seated at the lowermost end thereof within the housing 17 about an inwardly and upwardly project- I ing portion 61 which surrounds the bottom opening of the housing 17 and centers the spring 60 relative thereto. The top end of the springoti is in engagement with the bottom surface of the annular rib 49 of the valve member 43 and upon compression of the spring 60, the valve member 43 can movedownwardly within the housing 17 with the stem 45 and integral valve element 50 coaxially aligned'and received within the bottom opening of the housing. The nozzle member 44 is introduced up- Wardly through the bottom opening into the housing 17 with the tubular portion 51 thereof being received within the ring portion 47 of the valve member 43 and the threads 48 and 52 becoming engaged upon rotation of the nozzle member 44.

During this portion of the assembly operation, the valve member 43 is depressed within the housing 17 to allow adequate threaded engagement between the valve element 43 and the nozzle member 44 prior to contact of the shoulder 55 of the nozzle member 44 with the outer surface of the housing 17. Once adequate threaded engagement has occurred to interconnect the valve member 43 with the nozzle member 44, the valve member 43 is released and returned to its normal position within the housing 17 by action of the coil spring 69. This raises the nozzle member 44 into engagement with the bottom surface of the housing along the flatted portion surrounding the opening in the housing and the rib or shoulder 55. In this position the rotation limiting means constituting the protuberances 42 of the housing 17 and 54 of the nozzle member 44 are located in the same circumferential path with the protuberance 54 being received in association with the shoulder 41 of the housing 17. Consequently, rotation of the nozzle member 44 in either direction will ultimately result in abutment between the protuberances 42 and 54 preventing further rotation in the same direction.

With this arrangement, the nozzle member 44 may be rotated by grasping the ribbed tapered surface 56 to slightly less than 360 in either direction. Rotation of the nozzle member 44 in one direction will cause threaded downward advancement of the valve member against the action of the coil spring 66 to bring the valve element 50 into flow restriction engagement with the valve seat 59. Complete closing of the valving structure of the outlet 15 occurs as shown in Fig. 2 with the'valve element 5 0 in engagement with valve seat 59, the abutments 42 and 54 being located relative to one another to either make contact at this point in the path of rotation of the nozzle member 44 or be very close to contact. Rotation of the nozzle member 44 in the opposite direction will allow upward retraction of the valve member 43 to open the valve structure with the compressed coil spring urging thevalve member 43 in its upward movement.

In order to prevent separation between the valve member 43 and nozzle member 44 during opening of the valving arrangement, the rotation limiting protuberances 42 and 54 are arranged to engage one another at a point in the rotation of the nozzle member 44 wherein the same is still retained in threaded engagement with the valve member 43. Actually, this is the main function of the protuberances 42 and 54 and contact between the same is not necessary during closing of the valve as abutment between the valve element 50 and the valve seat 59 will function to prevent further rotation of the nozzle member 44. The coil spring 60 functions at all times to retain the inner tubular portion 51 of the nozzle member 44 within the housing 17 and thus hold the outer air directed nozzle portion of the nozzle member 44 in engagement with the outer surface of the housing 17. The slope of the slanted outer surface 56 of the nozzle member 44 is such than a user of the outlet 15 cannot grasp the nozzle member tightly enough to pull the same downwardly relative to the housing 17. This safeguard against damaging of the structure is further aided by forming the nozzle member 44 from self-lubricated materials such as rigid nylon. When using such material, it is impossible for a passenger to frictionally grip the exposed end of the nozzle member 44 sufficiently to pull the same downwardly. The provision of the ribs 58 on the inclined surface 56 provides for adequate gripping of this surface to rotate the nozzle member to open and close the valve structure as well as move the housing 17 relative to the ring member 18 for air direction control as shown in broken lines in Fig. 5.

Disassembly of the valving means of the outlet 15 may be readily accomplished by depressing the valve member 43 against the action of the coil spring 60 resulting in downward movement of the nozzle member 44 to an extent that the protuberance 54 can clear the protuberance 42 to permit continued rotation of the nozzle member 44 for disengagement thereof from the valve member 43. The valve member 43 may then be lifted upwardly and outwardly from within the housing 17 with the disassembly of the mounting means being completed,

Due to the uncomplicated design of the various elements of the outlet 15 of the present invention, all of these elements may be readily formed from plastic materials using a molding process. The valve element 43-is preferably formed from rigid nylon similarly as the nozzle member 4-4 and the housing 17. Using materials of the type described provides the desirable functional characteristics previously set forth and, in addition, results in the production of a unit which is very light in weight and which is inexpensively manufactured. The structure described provides for an efficient air flow pattern through the valving means forming a part thereof with operation being possible at a low noise level.

Obviously many modification and variations of the invention as hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An adjustable air outlet comprising a spherical housing having a passageway therethrough, a ring-like member having an opening therethrough with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, a nozzle having a tubular portion mounted in said passageway and an annular portion of larger diameter extending outwardly of said housing, shoulder-like means forming a part of said annular portion and engaging said housing adjacent the outer edge of said passageway, a valve member in said housing and having an annular portion co-axial with the tubular portion of said nozzle, the co-axial annular and tubular portions being telescoped and provided with interengaged cooperating threads formed therein, means in said passageway for preventing rotation of said valve member, said nozzle having a valve seat therein, said valve member including a stud-like valve element extending into the tubular portion of said nozzle for engagement with said valve seat, the shoulder-like means of said nozzle having a lug-like means projecting therefrom, a projection carried by said housing externally thereof for engagement by said lug-like means for limiting the rotation of said nozzle and preventing separation of said threads, and spring means in said housing acting between said housing and said valve member to hold said nozzle in said passageway whereby when said valve member and nozzle are depressed against the action of said spring means said lug-like means will be disengaged from said projection and permit further rotation of said nozzle so as to disengage the threads of said valve member and nozzle.

2. The air outlet of claim 1 wherein said means in said passageway preventing rotation of said valve member comprises a plurality of axially directed spaced ribs formed along the inner surface of said housing, said valve member having radial fingers projecting between said ribs and being axially slideable therebetween.

3. An adjustable air outlet comprising a spherical housing having a passageway therethrough, a ring-like member having an opening therethrough with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, a nozzle having a tubular portion mounted in said passageway and an annular portion of larger diameter extending outwardly of said housing, shoulder-like means forming a part of said annular portion and engaging said housing adjacent the outer edge of said passageway, a valve member in said housing and having an annular portion co-axial with the tubular portion of said nozzle, the co-axial annular and tubular portions being telescopcd and provided with interengaged cooperating threads formed therein, means in said passageway for preventing rotation of said valve member, said nozzle having a valve seat therein, said valve member including a stud-like valve element extending into the tubular portion of said nozzle for engagement with said valve seat, the shoulder-like means of said nozzle having a lug-like means projecting toward the adjacent outer edge of said passageway, a recess in said housing adjacent the outer edge of said passageway and receiving said lug-like means, a projection in said recess for engagement by said lug-like means for limiting the rotation of said nozzle and preventing separation of said threads, and spring means in said housing acting between said housing and said valve member to hold said nozzle in said passageway whereby when said valve member and nozzle are depressed against the action of said spring means said lug-like means will be disengaged from said projection and permit further rotation of said nozzle so as to disengage the threads of said valve member and nozzle.

4. The air outlet of claim 3 wherein said means in said passageway preventing rotation of said valve member comprises a plurality of axially directed spaced ribs formed along the inner surface of said housing, said valve member having radial fingers projecting between said ribs and being axially slideable therebetween.

5. An adjustable air outlet comprising a spherical housing having a passageway therethrough, a ring-like member having an opening therethrough with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, a nozzle having a tubular portion mounted in said passageway and an annular portion of larger diameter extending outwardly of said housing, shoulder-like means forming a part of said annular portion and engaging said housing adjacent the outer edge of said passageway, a valve member in said housing and having an annular portion telescopically receiving the tubular portion of said nozzle, interengaged cooperating threads on the inner surface of the annular portion of said valve member and on the outer surface of the tubular portion of said nozzle, means in said passageway for preventing rotation of said valve member, said nozzle having a valve seat therein located in the outwardly extending annular portion thereof, said valve member including a stud-like valve element extending into the tubular portion of said nozzle for engagement with said valve seat, the shoulder-like means of said nozzle having a lug-like means projecting therefrom, a projection carried by said housing externally thereof for engagement by said lug-like means for limiting the rotation of said nozzle and preventing separation of said threads, and spring means in said housing acting between said housing and said valve member to hold said nozzle in said passageway whereby when said valve member and nozzle are depressed against the action of said spring means said lug-like means will be disengaged from said projection and permit further rotation of said nozzle so as to disengage the threads of said valve member and nozzle.

6. An adjustable air outlet comprising a spherical housing having a passageway therethrough, a ring-like member having an opening therethrough with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, a nozzle having a tubular portion mounted in said passageway and an annular portion of larger diameter extending outwardly of said housing, shoulder-like means forming a part of said annular portion and engaging said housing adjacent the outer edge of said passageway, a valve member in said housing and having an annular portion telescopically receiving the tubular portion of said nozzle, interengaged cooperating threads on the inner surface of the annular portion of said valve member and on the outer surface of the tubular portion of said nozzle,

means in said passageway for preventing rotation of said valve member, said nozzle having a valve seat therein located in the outwardly extending annular portion thereof, said valve member including a stud-like valve element extending into the tubular portion of said nozzle for engagement with said valve seat, the shoulder-like means of said nozzle having a lug-like means projecting toward the adjacent outer edge of said passageway, a recess in said housing adjacent the outer edge of said passageway and receiving said lug-like means, a projection in said recess for engagement by said lug-like means for limiting the rotation of said nozzle and preventing separation of said threads, and a coil spring in said housing surrounding the tubular portion of said nozzle and seated at one end against said housing surrounding the end of said passageway through which said nozzle extends and at the other end against a shoulder portion of said valve member, said coil spring acting between said housing and said valve member to hold said nozzle in said passageway whereby when said valve member and nozzle are depressed against the action of said spring means said luglike means will be disengaged from said projection and permit further rotation of said nozzle so as to disengage the threads of said valve member and nozzle.

7. An adjustable air outlet assembly comprising a spher-' ical valve housing, a ring member having an opening therethrough with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, said housing having an outer surface of relatively rigid and extremely smooth material, said ring member being formed from relatively resiliently flexible material and being provided with an external annular mounting groove, a ring member mounting member of stiif material having an opening therethrough mounting said ring member therein with the inner edge of said mounting member being received in the mounting groove of said ring member, the outer diameter of u said valve housing being greater than the inner diameter of said ring member prior to the mounting of said housing in said ring member, said housing expanding said ring member against the inner edge of said mounting member.

8. The air outlet assembly of claim 7 wherein said ring member further includes a plurality of integrally formed flexible fingers extending in engagement with a substantial portion of the outer surface of said housing, and finger locking means surrounding said fingers holding the same in engagement with said housing to prevent displacement of said housing from said ring member.

9. The air outlet assembly of claim 7 wherein said ring member further includes a plurality of integrally formed flexible fingers extending in engagement with a substantial portion of the outer surface of said housing, and finger locking means surrounding said fingers holding the same in engagement with said housing to prevent displacement of said housing from said ring member, said finger locking means being in the form of an expandable annular spring member having overlapped hook ends which limit total expansion of said spring member.

10. An adjustable air outlet assembly comprising a spherical valve housing, a ring member having an openingtherethrough .with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, said housing having an outer surface of relatively rigid and extremely smooth nylon, said ring member being formed from relatively resiliently flexible polyethylene and being provided with an external annular mounting groove, a ring member mounting member of stiff material having an opening therethrough mounting said ring member therein with the inner edge of said mounting member being received in the mounting groove of said ring member, the outer diameter of said valve housing being greater than the inner diameter of said ring member prior to the mounting of said housing in said ring member, said housing expanding said ring member against the inner edge of said mounting member.

11. An adjustable air outlet assembly comprising a spherical valve housing, a ring member having an opening therethrough with arcuate surfaces mounting said housing for universal movement, said housing having an outer surface of relatively rigid and extremely smooth material, said ring member being formed from relatively resiliently flexible material and being provided with an external annular mounting groove, a ring member mounting member of stifi material having an opening therethrough mounting said ring member therein with the inner edge of said mounting member being received in the mounting groove of said ring member, the outer diameter of said valve housing being greater than the inner diameter of said ring member prior to the mounting of said housing in said ring member, said housing expanding said ring member against the inner edge of said mounting member, said mounting groove having therein a pro jecting key-like rib, the inner edge of said mounting member having a recess which receives said rib to prevent rotation of said ring member relative to said mounting member.

12. The air outlet assembly of claim 11 wherein said ring member further includes a plurality of integrally formed flexible fingers extending in engagement with a substantial portion of the outer surface of said housing, and finger locking means surrounding said fingers holding the same in engagement with said housing to prevent displacement of said housing from said ring member, said finger locking means being in the form of an expandable spring member having overlapped hook ends which limit total expansion of said spring member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Vehige 

